What is the personal injury statute of limitations in Texas? The statute of limitations in Texas is two years from the date of injury, with a few exceptions. Talking with a personal injury lawyer in Corpus Christi sooner rather than later can help protect your right to compensation.
The Two-Year Filing Deadline in Texas
For most injury cases in Texas, the basic rule is simple. A person must bring suit for personal injury not later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues. In many common cases, that means two years from the date of the accident. This rule often applies to claims handled by a car accident lawyer in Corpus Christi, including wrecks involving cars, trucks, and other negligence-based injury cases.
That’s why the personal injury statute of limitations in Texas is usually a two-year clock. If you don’t file your lawsuit on time, the other side can ask the court to dismiss it. When that happens, the case may be over before the court ever reaches the facts of what happened.
This is also where many people get tripped up. They think that opening a claim, sending records, or negotiating with an adjuster is enough. It’s not. The filing deadline is about when you file a lawsuit in court, not when an insurance claim begins.
We have offices in Houston, Corpus Christi, and Victoria; and will travel to any corner of Texas if we are capable of preventing an injustice.
What the Statute of Limitations Means in a Personal Injury Case
A statute of limitations is a legal deadline. It’s the window of time the law gives you to bring your claim. Once that window closes, the court may refuse to hear the case at all. Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 16, if you don’t file during the limitations period, you will likely not be able to pursue the claim in court.
What the personal injury statute of limitations means in Texas is that waiting too long can cost you your case. It doesn’t matter that you were badly hurt. It doesn’t matter that the other side may have been clearly at fault. If the filing deadline passes, the timing problem can take over the whole case.
It’s also smart to act early for practical reasons. Evidence doesn’t get better with time. Witnesses forget details. Video can be erased. Records can be harder to track down. Even when a person still has time left on the clock, a delay can make a claim harder to prove.
Limited Exceptions to the Texas Deadline
There are narrow exceptions and special rules. Texas law recognizes a tolling rule for people under a legal disability. Under the law, a person is under a legal disability if the person is younger than 18 or of unsound mind. If that disability exists when the claim accrues, the time of the disability isn’t included in the limitations period. The same statute also says there is a 25-year outside limit.
Texas courts also recognize a narrow discovery rule in some cases. The Supreme Court of Texas has said that, when the discovery rule applies, accrual is delayed until the plaintiff knew, or in the exercise of reasonable diligence should’ve known, of the wrongful act and resulting injury. This can matter in cases involving hidden or hard-to-discover harm, but it’s not automatic and shouldn’t be assumed.
Whether an exception to the Texas personal injury statute of limitations applies depends on the facts. The general rule is still two years, but some claims may be subject to tolling or delayed accrual. Those situations need a closer legal review because the exception may be limited, disputed, or unavailable.
Representing the injured in all areas of Texas that extends back over 40 years
The Rules for Injuries Involving a Minor
When the injured person is a child, the law can work differently. Because a person under eighteen is under a legal disability, the time that disability exists generally isn’t counted toward the normal limitations period. In many standard personal injury cases, that means the deadline may be delayed until the child becomes an adult, subject to the statute’s outside limit.
That means the statute of limitations for personal injury in Texas can differ when a minor is hurt. Even so, families usually shouldn’t wait if they can avoid it. A parent or guardian may be able to bring a claim on the child’s behalf sooner, and doing that earlier may help preserve evidence while the facts are still fresh.
Not every case involving a minor follows the same timeline. Medical malpractice claims have a separate statute. Texas law generally requires a health care liability claim to be filed within two years, but if the claimant is younger than twelve, the claim may be filed until the child’s fourteenth birthday. That statute also includes a ten-year statute of repose.
You need a skilled advocate to protect your legal rights and present your claim in such a way as to maximize your recovery.
The Deadline for Government Injury Claims
Claims against a city, county, or other governmental entity can create another timing issue. Under the Texas Tort Claims Act, a governmental unit generally must receive notice of a claim within six months of the incident.
The notice must reasonably describe the injury, time, place, and incident. Missing the notice deadline can seriously hurt your claim, even if the normal two-year filing deadline hasn’t run yet.
Why Acting Early Is Important
Even when the law may allow extra time, waiting can be risky. The safest approach is to treat the case like time is already running, because in most cases it is.
Early action gives our Corpus Christi personal injury attorneys a better chance to protect evidence, identify the correct deadline, and keep your case from being lost on a technical mistake instead of deciding on the facts.
Schedule a Free Consultation with Carrigan & Anderson
If you were hurt and you’re not sure how much time you have, don’t assume you can sort it out later. Whether you need help from a personal injury attorney or a wrongful death lawyer in Corpus Christi, getting timely legal help can make a big difference in your case.
Our team at Carrigan & Anderson, PLLC, can review your situation, explain the applicable deadline, and help you take action before time runs out.
At Carrigan & Anderson, PLLC we can talk to you about your options and rights.
